From one singing feline to another, Nicole Scherzinger has recently been announced as leading the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats. Originally rising to fame as the lead singer for ‘The PussyCat Dolls’ Scherzinger will be taking her first steps in the West End as the Glamour Cat Grizabella when the show premiers at the London Palladium on 6th December this year. She will perform for almost the entire run, leaving the cast on 7th February just before the show itself closes on the 28th.
The musical itself is one of the longest running ever on both the West End and Broadway. It initially opened in London in 1981 under the creative powerhouses of Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh, Trevor Nunn and Gillian Lynne and was an immediate Olivier Award-winning success. It made a successful leap across the pond in 1982 to Broadway with the same creative team and again received critical acclaim, capped off by a Tony Award for Best Musical. The productions ran for 21 years and 18 years respectively and amassed around 16,500 shows between them (not counting for the other locations around the globe Cats has both held residence in and toured).
Scherzinger herself is no stranger to working with Lloyd Webber, after performing in the Royal Variety Performance to mark the 25th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera in 2011. She sang the title song as heroine Christine Daaé and was accompanied by 4 of the musical’s past phantoms, showcasing her extensive vocal range and arresting stage presence in front of Princess Anne and other members of the Royal Family.
The acclaimed new musical of 2014, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is currently playing to sold-out audiences at the Savoy Theatre in the heart of London’s West End. The show now welcomes two new stars to the stage, musical theatre legends Bonnie Langford and Gary Wilmot will be high-kicking their way into the production from 16 September 2014. They join the current cast of Robert Lindsay, Katherine Kingsley and West End newcomer Rufus Hound.